Conflict: keep insulation board dry, soak bricks before mortaring Tools, Tips and Techniques Discuss Conflict: keep insulation board dry, soak bricks before mortaring in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; Okay, I'm excited. Floor's cut (almost), first course is cut, I'm about the mortar my first bricks this weekend. I ...

[kebwi]

Okay, I'm excited. Floor's cut (almost), first course is cut, I'm about the mortar my first bricks this weekend. I know that I shouldn't mortar the bricks to the insulation board (the very notion sounds preposterous). I intend to soak my bricks in a bucket, take them out one at a time, butter them on the sides, and lay the stretcher ring, mortared side-to-side at floor level around the floor. These are the only bricks that will both rest against the insulation board and be mortared. The interior floor bricks are on the insulation board but don't get mortared, and all remaining courses will be set on top of bricks...but not this first course.

So, when I lay a wet brick face down on the insulation board, the moisture on the under side has no where to go. What risk is there that the board under this first course (which must bear the the weight of the entire dome of course) will be weakened, mildewed, rotted, or otherwise compromised by this problem?

I'm using InsBlock 19 incidentally.

[Les]

No worries. The little bit of moisture that the brick has will have little effect on the board - which will dry out.

Les...

[dmun]

My insblock19 was in and out of the weather for the better part of a year before the final structure was built above it. It got wet again and again. I don't anticipate any problem.

[ttriche]

If you're really concerned you can always wrap the insulation board in aluminum foil. Mine was a bit fussy about getting wet (dries, given long enough, but...) so that's what I did. It worked well.

[jmhepworth]

Someone posted once that the firebrick soaks up water better than a shamwow. If the brick isn't wet, it will suck the water out of the mortar. I wouldn't worry at all about it giving up enough water to damage the insulation board. It will be fine.

[Neil2]

Is this the hearth brick layer ?

Don't bother mortaring them down or to each other, in fact his may cause you some problems with expansion. Just lay them dry.

[kebwi]

I'm not referring to the floor, but rather to the first course. I'm not using soldiers, so my first course is level with, and surrounding, the floor. Anyway, that first ring is down now (obviously not mortared to the InsBlock, which I never intended to do, sorry for any confusion), so, be it as it may...